Roommates
by Aria's Locket
Summary: An unlikely tale of two unlikely people being forced to live together under unlikely circumstances. Taang AU.
1. I

_**Roommates**_

_**Summary:**__ An unlikely tale of two unlikely people being forced to live together under unlikely circumstances._

_**A/N:**__ Consider this a profuse apology for being gone so long. I won't bore you with the details, but life has not been kind. However, expect an update this week. Cross my heart._

_**Inspiration:**__ A cute little universe that my best friend has been ranting about for ages. She's been asking me to write about it for the longest, and I told her I wouldn't. And yet…here we are. Oh. Prompts are from 64 Damn Prompts on Livejournal. So if they look familiar…well, that's why. Enjoy!_

_**Warnings: **__Modern AU, Toph can see, no bending, yadda yadda, you get the idea._

**OOO**

**1. 2 a.m.**

Toph grumbled into her pillow as she heard her Blackberry ringing on the floor next to her.

Digging deep down inside her for some much needed willpower, she lifted her head high enough to squint at the digital clock on her bedside table. Toph immediately rolled her eyes and whined loudly as she buried her head back under the covers once she saw the bright red numbers on her clock blinking in her face and telling her that it was two in the morning.

She was tempted to just let the phone ring. It was in the middle of the night, and she felt like she had no obligation to pick up the phone when it was this late. But then there was the possibility that the person on the other end would keep calling until she picked up. She already knew that would be ten times more annoying.

Keeping her head under her quilt, Toph felt around the floor by her bed until she dug her phone out of the pocket of her jeans that she took off yesterday. Silencing her Linkin Park ringtone, she pressed the call button and put the phone to her ear, not bothering to look at who had been calling.

"What in the hell do you want this late at night, whoever you are?" she grumbled tiredly into the phone.

"_Toph?"_

The ebony haired girl blinked the sleep out of her eyes and furrowed her brow. "Mm…is that you, Katara?"

"_Yeah, it is. How are you?"_

Toph sat up in bed and flicked on the black lamp next to her bed. "Well, I was sleeping until you woke me up, genius," she muttered.

"_Oh, right. Sorry about that. I just needed to ask you something important."_

Toph tilted her head from side to side, stretching out the kinks in her neck and relaxing as she heard her stiff joints crack. "Well, whatever it is, can't it wait until morning?" She then yawned into the phone, further exaggerating how late in the night it was.

"_I suppose. But I remember you saying that you needed a roommate to help you pay the rent."_

Toph stopped mid-yawn and looked suspiciously into the phone. Finally, she sighed in defeat. "Alright, you have my attention. Now talk."

"_What if I told you that I have a potential roommate for you?"_

**2. Metaphor**

Toph sat stretched out on the couch, flipping through the channels on her television in order to keep herself occupied until her roommate's arrival. Katara hadn't told her much about him. He was a good friend of hers from college who was looking for a place to stay after he had gotten a job as an English teacher at the high school nearby. She said that he was nice, neat, and would gladly meet Toph half way as far as rent was concerned.

It didn't sound like too bad of an arrangement. She was tired of emptying the entirety of her pay check every week just so she could keep living here. If Katara actually found someone willing to bear the burden, well then Toph couldn't argue.

Plus, she supposed it wouldn't be too bad to have some company around here. It was a large place and she could easily spare her new guest one of the empty rooms that she didn't use. It would work out well.

The chime of her doorbell pulled Toph from her thoughts. Toph turned her head toward the door and heard three knocks come from the wooden door. She jumped over the side of the couch and ran barefooted to the front door.

Before she opened the door, she stopped and looked down at her wardrobe. After all, this _was_ a guy coming to live with her. She tightened her bun and tucked in the strands that managed to escape from the updo, she straightened the straps of her tank top, and tugged on her jean shorts.

You know, just in case he was cute.

Toph undid the latch on the door, swung it open…

…and craned her neck upward.

Her first reaction to the man in her doorway was that he was _tall_. He probably had six or seven inches on her. He was dressed in loose jeans and a muscle shirt and was holding two rolling suitcases behind him. He was thin, but she could tell from the cut of his shirt that he was still muscular. She looked up higher and saw a head of dark brown hair that lay messily atop his head. She was about to introduce herself until she looked down from his hair to his…

…wow, now _those_ were some eyes!

She wondered what color they were. They were storm clouds. No, maybe not storm clouds. Storm clouds were too intense for his eyes. More like smoke, or something. Or maybe steel. They sparkled like he had mirrors reflecting in his eyes. Maybe that was it? His eyes were a combination of smoke and mirrors. Or…

"Ahem. You're Toph Bei Fong, right?"

Toph shook her head and brought her attention back to person in her doorway. He was looking down at her kindly enough and had a smile bright enough to blind her. She stared at him some more and figured that he looked nice enough. Plus, he wasn't acting rude or obnoxious despite her daydreaming. All in all, he didn't seem that bad.

She held out her hand and introduced herself. "Yeah, that's right. You can just call me Toph. And you are?"

The young man let go of one of his suitcases and shook her waiting hand.

"I'm Aang."

**3. Sky**

"God, you have a lot of stuff," Toph grumbled.

The young girl pushed the heavy cardboard box across the carpeted floor of Aang's new room and pushed it into the corner next to its equally-as-heavy twin. Toph swiped the sweat from her forehead and sat down on one of the boxes as she saw Aang pushing in a third cardboard box.

"It's not really stuff," he explained, situating the last box underneath the window. "They're all books."

"Really?" Toph asked. "How many do you have? It's like you have enough to fill an entire library."

Aang did nothing but shrug and smile. "They're special. I take them with me everywhere I go." He took a pocket knife and starting cutting open the tape that kept the boxes closed tight. He started piling the books next to him. "Thanks for the room, by the way. It's perfect."

Toph turned her head towards him as he unpacked the thick volumes from the box. "Oh, sure. It's no problem. It's not that great though. It's just a normal room, right?"

Aang shook his head and gestured over to the open window. "I like the view."

The girl leaned over to look out of the window. "What about it?" she asked.

"There are no buildings or trees in the way. It's just sky. I love it."

Toph watched as the young man in front of her kept smiling as he stared out of his new window. She did nothing but shake her head and laugh. Then, she hopped off of her seat, snatched his pocket knife, and helped him unpack the rest of his books.

**4. Lost Scene**

Aang didn't mean to ask the question as bluntly as he had. It was just a simple question to start conversation over dinner. He wanted to know more about her. He had only moved in a few days ago, and he figured it was a perfect opportunity to lay down friendly grounds. But he didn't expect her to stay silent for so long.

Toph didn't look up from her food as she answered his question. "I left because I wasn't wanted where I was before. At least here, I can do what I want and take care of myself."

Aang looked at her quizzically. "But, you'll be missing out by not being with your parents, won't you?"

Toph shrugged. "I guess. But it's not like they'd care anyway."

Aang attempted to say something else to soothe the awkward direction the conversation took. But he stayed silent and finished his meal instead.

**5. Degrees**

"Toph! Where's the thermostat?"

"It's in the living room!"

"Where in the living room?"

"Next to the couch!"

"I don't see it!"

"What do you mean you don't see it? It's right there, stupid!"

"Don't call me stupid! It isn't here!"

"It's on the wall in plain sight. How can you not see it?"

"Then you come over and find it!"

"I'm in the shower, dumbass!"

"It's boiling in here! I have to turn the heat off!"

"Well, then wait until I get out!"

"I'll burn to death by the time that happens! You take too long!"

"Oh, shut up!"

**6. Seize the Day**

Aang was already so used to this by now that the chore almost didn't bother him. He had been doing it already for two months and it was becoming almost amusing.

"Toph, it's seven thirty. You need to get to work."

Grumbles, mumbles, and whines left her mouth as she turned over onto her stomach and covered her head with the pillow.

Aang rolled his eyes and nudged her shoulder. "You're twenty-two. Shouldn't you have learned how to get up on your own a decade ago?"

That earned him a smack across the face with a pillow. "Go away! I'm tired!"

The young man huffed in impatience and looked down at his watch again. At this rate, he wouldn't be able to make on time to work either. Just as he was about to yell in her ear, an idea came into his head and caused a large boyish smile to creep up onto his features. Aang quickly took off his shoes, stood up on top of Toph's bed, and started jumping up and down, shaking the mattress.

"Carpe Diem, Toph! Rise and shine, up, up, up!" he shouted loudly in between jumps.

Toph was being jostled and jumped around so much that her blankets started falling off the bed. She screamed loudly for him to stop, but he just kept jumping faster, causing her to almost fall off the bed. Finally, so as to avoid her possibly falling ungracefully out of bed and hurting herself, Toph planted her feet on the floor and stood up from bed.

Aang stopped jumping and stepped down from the bed and saw Toph send a heated glare in his direction. Aang couldn't help but laugh as he held out her bath towel, almost as a sign of forgiveness.

Unlucky for him, Toph woke up in horrible moods. So she snatched the towel out of his hands, planted a firm punch on his forearm, and stormed into the bathroom.

**7. Opposite**

When one walked into their apartment, it was blatantly obvious that two completely different people lived there.

One bedroom contained bookshelves filled with novels and dictionaries, a perfectly made bed, and an immaculate closet. The other bedroom had rock posters covering the walls, a bed that on principle was never made, and clothes that were scattered about in various locations in the room.

One half of the fridge contained her dinner left overs from last night: a delicious pasta dish complete with chicken breasts. On the other half were his dinner left overs: a simple vinaigrette salad that he was forced to eat since she forgot that he was a vegetarian when she made dinner.

Her calendar notes were scrawled in a messy script with a green pen. His notes were written in neat print with an orange sharpie.

One bathroom had make-up and hairbrushes all over the sink. Another bathroom still had a shaving kit left out from this morning.

Yet despite all of that, they still managed to make it work somehow.

**8. Passions Run**

Toph always wondered in the back of her mind if Aang ever realized how her heart started to speed up and how heat started to pool in her lower stomach when Aang walked through the living room with his hair wet from a shower and with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.

Aang always wondered if Toph ever caught onto the fact that his breath would hitch in his throat whenever Toph came back from working out in the gym with her tight tank tops and short-shorts on and sweat dripping down her neck.

**9. Connection**

Aang smiled at his LCD screen when he saw the name 'Toph' flash across the screen. Despite what the dark haired girl said afterwards, he knew she always felt the need to talk to him on the phone at least twice a day. And Aang couldn't argue against that.

**10. Lull and Storm**

The two twenty-two year olds always had somewhat of a bipolar relationship.

You could say that they enjoyed the simple conversations they had with each other when they were at home watching a movie or even when they were texting each other during their work breaks. There was a quiet hum in their demeanor and they both enjoyed the friendly company of the other during those times.

However, there were always those days when a large fight broke out between them over something completely stupid. Today, it happened to be over who left the door unlocked before they left for work.

**11. Animal**

"Hey, Toph."

"Yeah?"

"Would you say that your size is small and trim?"

"Um…I guess so."

Click.

"Are you extremely strong willed and competitive?"

"That sounds about right."

Scroll. Click.

"What about your gregariousness?"

"My what?"

"Are you sociable?"

"Meh…I like my circle of friends. That's it."

Scroll. Tap. Click.

"What about attractiv—"

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, nothing."

Scroll down to 'Very Attractive.' Click.

"Hmm…says here that your ideal animal is a badger."

"Were all of those questions from a personality quiz online?"

"….maybe."

"Idiot."

**12. Children**

"How can you teach kids all day, huh?"

Aang shot Toph a strange glance as he undid his tie. "What do you mean?"

"How do you teachers do it? I mean trying to teach a bunch of little kids their one two three's all day would drive me nuts," she explained as she propped her feet up on the coffee table and continued to watch her program.

"First off, they're high school students. Second of all, I teach English, not Math."

"Meh, same thing," she muttered, waving off the comment.

Aang sighed, smiled, and shook his head. He wondered if she would say that she hated kids once she found the perfect guy…the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

**13. We All Float On**

At first, the sight of Aang crying had shocked her.

Her normally cheerful and exuberant friend was now slumped into a ball on the window sill with his knees tucked into his chest. There were tears threatening to fall over his eye lids.

Toph placed a hand on his shoulder and caused him to look in her direction. He looked broken, sitting there with nothing but the stormy, rainy backdrop behind him. She quickly counted the days in her head and realization struck her immediately.

Toph sat down and let Aang lean his head on her shoulder. She wrapped an arm around his shoulder and started to rock side to side as sobs started to escape his lips.

They sat there all night at that window and managed to get through the troubled night together.

It was the anniversary of his parents' deaths.

**14. Chess**

"Checkmate."

"Damn," Toph grumbled as she glared at her black pieces.

"You were close this time though," Aang said helpfully as he started resetting the pieces. "Best thirteen out of twenty five?"

"I don't think I want to play anymore."

**15. Duty**

"Hey, Toph!"

The green eyed girl turned around and found her roommate leaning over the diner counter with a big smile on his face. The girl rolled her eyes and leaned her elbows on the counter right in front of him.

"What is it, Twinkle Toes?"

Aang looked towards the clock. "Remember that movie you've been wanting to see that came out yesterday?"

Toph gave him a suspicious look. "Yes…"

Aang happily held up two, white movie tickets and waved them in her face. "Show starts in ten minutes."

Toph rolled her eyes and looked around the diner. There weren't that many tables occupied and no one else would be coming in for a while. Toph weighed her options as she tapped her green pen against her notebook that she used to take orders.

"I'm on duty though. I can't just leave."

"Come on," Aang pleaded. "The place is empty. You could spare a couple of hours to be with your best friend." He even pouted a little bit for good measure.

Despite knowing him for half a year, Toph couldn't say no to him when he was trying his best to look adorable. Toph looked over her shoulder at her coworker, Katara, who was still making coffee in the back. Katara smiled and waved Toph forward, mouthing that she would cover her shift for her.

Toph smiled, mouthed a thank you, threw off her apron, and disappeared through the diner doors with Aang following close behind.

**16. Rip**

When Toph's jacket had caught onto the edge of a fence and got a hole ripped into the arm, Aang didn't hesitate to drape his jacket over her shoulders. After all, he was willing to be a little chilly just to keep her warm.

**17. Missing Time**

There were times when Aang walked into the kitchen, only to find Toph sitting there before him. Seeing as how they both couldn't fall asleep that night, they would start up simple little conversations that would last long into the night. The best part was that the time seemed to fly by so fast that they didn't even seem to notice.

**18. Crest**

Whenever Aang accidently brushed against her or whenever Aang sat too close to her, Toph didn't think that the tension between them could get any higher.

**19. Itch**

Aang wasn't sure what made him do it. It was an itching feeling at the back of his head that was telling him to appreciate the opportunity presented to him and to just take it.

After making her skip work, after wrapping her up in his jacket, and after receiving jolts of electricity every time their hands brushed against each other, Aang could suppress his feelings anymore. The tension, the desire…it was all too much to suppress and it was bothering him to no end.

So it was at that point that Aang decided to initiate their first kiss.

**20. Explode**

That night, the two-some managed to find themselves sprawled against the living room couch in a heated make out session. The passion was running over them so furiously that they both thought they were going to explode.

**21. Rise**

Aang wasn't sure what had happened. Maybe it was because they were actually a couple now, or maybe it was because she was actually in a good mood this morning. Either way, when Aang went into Toph's room to wake her up, she listened. She got up, gave him a peck on the cheek, and hummed her way to the bathroom.

**22. Crumble**

"So…?"

"So, what?"

"You guys are a couple, aren't you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Katara."

"Oh, come on. Don't give me that. Your evil, mean, sarcastic wall is starting to crumble. That means you're in love."

"You're senile."

"Whatever. But this is the only explanation I have for you humming to yourself today. _Humming! _You don't hum."

"Oh, will you shut up? You have orders piling up."

**23. Range**

Aang was sitting in front of his class and reading passages out of their newly assigned book. After working his way through high school and college and managing to graduate significantly earlier than everyone else in his class, he rather appreciated his substitute teaching job he had been given. Most schools would have turned him down seeing as how he was so young, but he was grateful for the position.

He was good about keeping his concentration and kept his eyes focused on the reading he was reciting to the class. He congratulated himself on his ability to remain on task in front of his class and managed to get through the lesson without averting his gaze not even once.

But of course, when he sent the class to write responses to what they heard independently, Aang found it impossible not to stare outside of the classroom window.

Waiting by the school gates was Toph in her waitress uniform, probably waiting for the bell to ring so that she could go home with Aang after he was done with his class. He smiled, appreciating that he could keep his girlfriend in perfect view while his class finished their assignment.

**24. Fight / Flight**

Toph and Aang often found themselves getting into very stupid fights that often led into intense shouting matches, doors slamming, and feet stomping. It seemed as though the two of them didn't know how to shy away from confrontation and just retreat.

**25. Acid**

"Come on, you can do it."

Aang held up the small glass and eyed it warily. "This goes against everything I stand for."

Toph rolled her eyes and started up at him prettily and deviously. "Oh come on, it's just a shot. Live a little!"

"Why now?" Aang questioned helplessly. "It's not like it's necessary."

"It _is_ necessary. Look, I'll go vegetarian for a week if you drink one. Just do it."

Aang looked at his girlfriend carefully, unsure if he even wanted to submit to her demands. She always had a habit of forcing him to do extremely stupid things against his will. Like that time they went downtown to gamble. Or that other time when she dragged him into a club and started this huge fight that got the cops involved. He supposed this wasn't as bad as the other two occasions, but he still couldn't help but muse on the fact that Toph often got him into doing stupid things.

He shrugged. He supposed it was worth it, anyway. So, he lifted the shot up in the air, gulped it down, and winced as it burned like acid against his throat.

**26. Color**

Aang was on his back on the couch while he had Toph's small form laid out over his chest. She was so small and light that the weight felt like nothing. They were settled into a comfortable silence as they stared at the television they were watching and the movie credits started rolling along across the screen. Toph started to yawn and shifted slightly.

Aang looked down at the top of Toph's head. "You tired?"

"Nah, I'm good. Besides, you're comfortable."

"Oh really?" Aang laughed. "This morning I thought I was a scrawny, annoying excuse for a man."

Toph rolled her eyes and snuggled further into Aang's chest. "Well, that was because you pissed me off this morning."

The young man did nothing but chuckle and roll his eyes. He started threading his fingers through her hair without noticing and hugged her closer to him. "I didn't do anything, you know."

Toph snorted. "Ha! That's a lie. You woke me up an hour earlier than you were supposed to."

"That's because you had an early shift today. What was I supposed to do?"

"Let me sleep."

Aang shook his head and closed his eyes, still brushing Toph's hair. "Fine. Whatever you say."

A comfortable silence settled over the two of them as they sat there in the dark with nothing but the lights flashing from the television as commercials started to flash across the screen. Toph's eyes started to droop slightly from exhaustion. Her muscles felt sore from being on her feet and moving all day, and nothing seemed better than relaxing with Aang for the night.

As Toph was ready to fall asleep, she stole a look at Aang.

She smirked and couldn't hide the small laugh that bubbled up from her throat when she saw him fast asleep with a light snore passing through his lips. The bright colors from the television were splayed across his face and made his already pale skin glow. She couldn't help but stare at how peaceful he looked asleep there against the couch. She was tempted to wake him up and tell him that they should probably head off to bed, but she didn't feel like waking him. Instead, she gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, and fell asleep on top of him.

**27. Give**

Toph had gradually situated herself out of her room and into Aang's room. Pretty soon, her room became nothing more than a place where she stored all of her stuff, and occasionally where she slept when a fight got particularly bad. But other than that, she slept in Aang's room where he was close by. It gave her comfort knowing that he was right there next to her as she slept.

Perhaps it was because she had been by herself and single for a long time, but she didn't understand how she lived so long without this wonderful feeling that he gave her whenever he was nearby.

**28. Needle**

"You can't be serious."

"What? I thought it was a good idea."

"A tattoo? Why in the hell would you do something like that?"

"Because I thought it would look cool."

"It's a blue arrow. That's such a dumb tattoo you shouldn't have even bothered."

"You're just saying that because you're scared of needles."

"I am not. I just think it's gross to ink your skin like that. That can't be natural."

"Oh, admit it. It looks cool. I bet you want one too."

"Oh, _god_ no."

"You know you want one. How about this? I'll take you tomorrow. Okay?"

"I am not stepping foot near those buzzing needles. You can forget that."

**29. Locks**

Aang's lips were connected to Toph's as they collided into their front door in a state of impatience and insistence.

Aang struggled to get the keys out of his pocket and unlock the door, while at the same time trying his hardest not to disconnect his eager lips from Toph's. His hands were shaking from the flood of hormones surging through his body and the excitement that was clouding all other good judgment and basic human function. Toph wrapped her arms around his neck as he managed to force the key into the lock and twist it open. The door was wrenched open and the couple collapsed into the house and wound up colliding with the nearest wall.

The door was pushed closed and the couple continued their assault. Toph laughed and disconnected herself from Aang for only a moment. She pointed to the door and nudged Aang towards it.

"You forgot to lock the door," she reminded him, her words coming out in between heavy pants and breaths.

The man did nothing but shake his head and shrug off her comment.

"We can lock it later."

**30. Slope**

Aang had always heard of instances when a relationship tended to get rather boring. It was as if everything started off on a high point, but then it gradually sloped down until it reached rock bottom.

He had often thought about whether his relationship with Toph would ever slope down until it hit the nothingness at the bottom. Whether, in the future, they would be the perfectly mismatched set that they were right now or if they wouldn't be able to live with the other anymore.

But days with Toph were never boring. Each day was filled with excitement and life. Whether they were going out doing something stupid, enjoying a romantic evening, fighting about something trivial that would soon boil over in a few minutes, or if they were spending the day wrapped up in each other's arms…there was never a dull moment for them.

Aang concluded that their relationship would never slope downwards. It was nothing but up for the two of them. He was sure of it.

**31. Correspondence**

Toph checked in her bag and cursed under her breath. She sifted through her belongings again and noticed that her house keys were missing. She would be getting home earlier than Aang today, and thus would have no way to get into the house now. She pulled out her Blackberry and checked her BBM to see if Aang was online. She quickly sent typed in a text using the small keyboard in her phone.

_do u have my keys?_

Toph pressed send and waited for Aang to reply. She kept staring at the screen until she saw that Aang had read the message. She looked up from her phone and looked back towards the kitchen to see if the new couple's order had been completed. Sure enough, one of the waitresses came out with two piping hot mugs of coffee and handed them to Toph.

Toph pocketed her phone in her apron, walked around the counter, and over to the small table next to the windows of the diner. She set the coffee down on the table in front of the two guests and left their ticket on the table in front of them. As she walked away and thanked them for their purchase, she felt her pocket vibrate. Toph quickly pulled out her phone and checked the new text that had arrived.

_yup. grabbed them after u left. do u need them?_

A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she texted back another response.

_duh. can u drop them off, plz?_

Her fingernails tapped against the plastic casing of her phone as she waited patiently for another text to arrive. She leaned back against the counter and lifted her feet on top of one of the stools near the front. She laid her phone down on the counter and started stretching her limbs. She was starting to get exhausted, but would have to work for a few more hours before she could go home. The sound of vibration caused Toph to look back at her phone.

_no prob. love you._

Toph did a double take as she looked at the message he sent her. The last two words sent shivers of electricity shooting up and down her spine. She didn't know why it made her smile so much. They had never formally said those words to each other out in the open before. They were certainly implied seeing as how both of them were more in the habit of showing rather than saying. She didn't know what made him type the words and send them. But whatever made him do it, she was grateful for it. She sent him one last message before she went back to work.

_love you too._

**32. Linger**

"You're text today was cute by the way," Toph told him. "Then again, you are a softie, Twinkle Toes."

Aang looked up from the book he was reading across the couch and smiled. "When did that nick name start again?"

Toph shrugged as she put down her iPod and pulled out her ear buds. "Your steps are as delicate as a ballerina's. The name sort of came about on its own."

He couldn't help but smile at her explanation. He placed his book down next to him on the coffee table and opened his arms for her. She crawled over on the other side of the couch and settled herself in his arms as she kept mindlessly scrolling through the songs on her player. Aang tucked his chin on the top of her head and leaned back into the couch again.

"Did you mean it?" she asked suddenly.

"Did I mean what?" he asked her.

Toph bit her lip slightly as she kept her eyes down at her music, trying her hardest to avert her gaze from him and to keep her face hidden behind her bangs. She wouldn't allow him the satisfaction of seeing her blush like this in front of him. She simply wouldn't allow it. She breathed in deeply and repeated the question.

"Did you mean what you said in that text?"

Confusion crossed Aang's features for only a moment before his eyes widened in realization and he nodded. "Oh, you mean the whole 'I love you' thing?"

Toph didn't say anything. She simply nodded and waited for a response.

Aang looked down at her curiously and tried to get a peek at her face. However, she firmly kept her head down and hid her face with her bangs. Aang smiled. It was a rare occasion that Toph ever got nervous or flustered around her. However, whenever she did manage to turn beet red in front of him, he couldn't suppress the smirk that crossed on his features. The act clearly embarrassed her, and reiterating the event made it even worse.

"Well, why wouldn't I mean it?" he asked her.

Toph shrugged and brought her head up. She turned to face him but kept her eyes cast downwards. "I don't know. I guess I really didn't expect it."

Aang shook his head and laughed. He pulled Toph closer to him and stared down into her eyes that were permanently fixated on the wall.

"Will you look at me, please?"

Toph rolled her eyes slightly and shifted her gaze up to him. Memories of the first day she saw him flooded back as she looked into his eyes again. Another barrage of metaphors started to attack her brain as she tried to find a decent comparison to award his grey eyes. She couldn't rip her gaze away from his as he looked down at her with warm, inviting eyes.

"I meant it, okay? I'm not one to pour things out like that out of the blue. I really do love you. I'm positive of it."

Toph suddenly became very aware of the strong arms that were wrapped around her and the prickling sensations that seemed to linger on her skin wherever he was touching her. It was as if her chest suddenly expanded tenfold and her cheeks were growing hotter. Something about him saying it in person made her feel better than the text did. Perhaps it was because his eyes seemed to leak absolute sincerity as he said it. But it made her heart swell up and she couldn't help but smirk at him.

"Love you too, Twinkle Toes."

And she didn't pour out the words carelessly either. Just like him, she was sure that she meant it, too.

**OOO**

_**A/N:**__ May possibly be continued if people like it enough. Drop a review and tell me what you think. Hope you all enjoyed._


	2. II

_**A/N**__: Okay! So according to the poll on my profile, the winning format is…PROMPTS! Which is nice because I like consistency. But I'll warn you, if there's a plot bunny in my head about this universe that is nibbling at my brain and won't go away, expect a featured one-shot in here somewhere because, well, it might happen. But for now, I'll be doing little mini prompts and such. Alright. Onward!_

_**Prompts**__: #33-64 from 64 Damn Prompts on Livejournal_

_**Disclaimer**__: I hate this whole disclaimer question thing. I mean obviously no one on this website owns any of these fandoms because if we did, we wouldn't be writing about them on a website. We'd be out there making it happen in real life. I mean, duh!_

**OOO**

**33. Charm**

Toph quickly started noticing that she had been agreeing to a lot of ridiculous things a lot more frequently lately. Of course she didn't pay it any mind in the beginning, but now she was starting to figure out why Aang started getting his way a lot more often than she would have liked to admit.

"No."

Aang's jaw dropped and quickly picked itself right back up into a pout. "Oh, come _on_," he practically begged. "Just for one hour, and then we can leave. The exhibit's only open today!"

Toph groaned and started shuffling through her pockets for more change to put into the washing machine. "I have to finish the laundry today. You can go by yourself. Besides, I'm not really into planes or whatever else that exhibit is about." She tried to wave him off as she set the dials on the machine and sat herself on top of it once it rumbled to life.

Aang frowned and leaned on the dryer next to his girlfriend. "Aeronautics and aviation, first of all," he corrected grumpily. "Second of all, I'm not asking you to cut of your leg. I mean, hell, I went with you to that demon-concert last weekend!"

Now it was Toph's turn to frown and cross her arms. "It was Gigantour, and you survived, didn't you?"

"Not without blowing out my eardrums!" he argued. "I mean, do you even understand what any of those people were growling and screaming about?"

Toph scoffed. "Of course I do. I don't just go for the music. You should know better."

A loud thunk was heard and Toph turned to see that Aang had crashed his head on the top of the metal dryer, grumbling under his breath. "You're missing the point," Aang mumbled.

See? It was at times like these that Toph thought she won the argument. She was totally confident. He seemed terribly hopeless. Sure, she'd make it up to him later—she had enough money saved up to treat them somewhere—but she was not in the mood for museums today. Maybe some other time would have been fine, but she was putting her foot down now. That should have been the end of it.

But then—of course—there was Aang's secret and deadly weapon.

Before Toph knew what hit her, she was whisked off the washing machine and against the wall. She was about to shove Aang away from her, but then she felt his breath on the nape of her neck and she froze. He had her pinned between the wall and his chest and she couldn't move. It also didn't help that the feel of his lips trailing up and down her collarbone was very _very_ distracting.

"Come on, Toph," he hummed. "Just one hour. It won't kill you."

Oh, hell, now he was kissing her. This was just great. She was losing control of the situation.

"L-Listen," she breathed out, "now you're acting a little ridiculous. I already s-said…" Oh _God!_ He was really getting good at this…

He used one finger to turn her chin towards his so that she was looking straight into his eyes. Dammit. He knew that she had a weakness for those eyes that totally floored her the very first time she laid eyes on him. She bit her lip when she started to feel the pressure of his gaze. Ugh, she hated when he pulled the Charming Boy Toy maneuver, because right now she was losing her right mind…

…still going…almost gone…practically nonexistent…

…crap.

"…fine, one hour."

**34. Roads**

Aang yawned as he walked up the stairs to the apartment. The elevator was broken, he had to stay after school to grade essays for all three of his classes, and he had a killer headache. Today was not his day. He sort of hoped that he could just crawl into bed and wrap his arms around Toph so that he could at least fall asleep in peace. Yeah, that sounded nice right about now.

Of course, that plan was blown out the window and half way across the world once he saw Toph on the couch with a cup of coffee in her hand, her laptop on the coffee table, and books and papers scattered all over the floor for about a three foot radius from the couch. She was switching in between clicking around on the laptop, marking down something in the book in her lap, and sipping the bitter coffee in her hand.

You know what? He was just going to go for it and ask. "Toph. What in God's name are you doing?"

"Studying for the GRE," she mumbled from behind her coffee cup.

He blamed the sluggish manner in which his brain was functioning at the moment for the lapse in understanding. But he rubbed his eyes and vaguely recalled her mentioning something about that. When they met, Toph had been taking a year off after undergrad. She said she'd go to grad school afterwards once she got a job and earned a bit more money for books and tuition.

"Wait," he responded, "that's right. Your gap year's almost over. Welcome to the joys of grad school, my dear." He ruffled her hair messily as he passed her.

"Shut up," she snapped, nudging his hand out the way. "I don't know how the hell you studied for this crap. It's like a rehash of the SAT. Now _that_ was a freakin' headache."

Aang sat down on the couch next to her and watched her flip through what he now realized was a prep book. "What about your applications? Where do you want to go?"

"Kyoshi University has a good GSAPP program," she responded mechanically, switching to her laptop.

Aang raised a brow. "Enlighten me…what?"

"The Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation."

Aang smiled. "So you're going to major in architecture like you said? Good for you."

"Let's hope," she said nervously. "First I have to pass this goddamn test."

Aang sighed. His bed was literally a few feet away. He could crawl into bed like his brain was telling him to.

But Toph had been so eager about finally getting out of her job and going back to school that he could never have the heart to not support her on it. He had looked through her portfolio of all the sketches and old projects she had done during undergrad that she planned to send in and they looked pretty exceptional to him. Plus, at late hours, he saw her under a lamplight sketching away any little idea that popped in her mind. She looked happy when she was immersing herself in her little projects, and Aang was really proud of her. It was a new chapter, a new road for her to travel. The least he could do was help her out when she needed it.

He leaned over and picked up one of her prep books. It was only ten. They could study for a couple of hours before bed.

**35. Hunger**

There was always something desperate—something wild—about the sensations that crawled through and under his skin every time they kissed, touched, spoke, or stared. And whenever they were apart, those sensations would double, triple, quadruple, until he found himself craving—_starving_—for more.

**36. Reciprocity**

They each had funny ways of reciprocating their feelings for each other.

Aang had no qualms about proclaiming his love for her. His _I love you_'s were frequent and daily. Every day as she left for work, came back home, left for a college interview, or for no reason at all, he'd declare his feelings. It was natural. He was open. He was used to it.

Toph was still trying to figure the whole mess out. What was love really? How did she know what it felt like? It wasn't like she had anything to compare to. Sure, she had said it a few times. But almost every time he would speak those three powerful words, she would just nod and hum in agreement, unsure of what to utter.

But Aang never doubted her love for him and never forced her to say the phrase. She knew she was particular about things such as that, and whenever he said the four-lettered word, she because extremely nervous and flustered. But she stood up with him during late nights when he was stressed and needed a shoulder. She cooked for him whenever she saw that he had gone days without a proper meal. She didn't forget his birthday this year—or Christmas—or Valentine's Day. And there was something about the way her green eyes shined, the way her lips turned up into a gentle smile, and the way her face softened up into a look of complete content whenever she stared at him.

He realized then that she didn't need to say it for him to know it.

**37. Kind**

"Okay. You are way too nice."

Confusion was clearly evident on Aang's face and he couldn't help but question her. "What are you talking about?"

Toph sighed and pointed a thumb back towards the platform of the subway train. "That man over there was _not_ homeless."

"You don't know that," Aang defended as he stared back at the haggard, unkempt man standing by the turnstiles and jiggling around an old coffee cup with a few well-meant pieces of change inside, including his very own five dollar bill. "He could have really lost his job. He could need help."

"Or he could be scamming you," she replied automatically. "I mean, come _on_. Paying for his daughter's operation? Really?"

But Aang would never doubt the poor man on the platform and dutifully defended him. "It's possible."

Toph shook her head at him and he vaguely wondered what was her issue with giving a beggar some loose pocket change. It was only five dollars, hardly that big of a dent in his pocket. He could give up a Java Chip Frappuccino for one day in order to help out someone in need. However Toph didn't think so.

"I've seen the dude walk into fast food joints buying himself lunch," Toph deadpanned. "Does that sound like a homeless person trying to pay for his mysterious and non-existent daughter's operation?"

But Aang shrugged at the comment and simply jogged up the stairs leading to the streets of the city and brushed off the comment. "He has a right to eat. He's probably hungry as well."

"_No one_—and I mean _no one_—would give that guy enough money to go out and buy entire trays of food. It cost him a good thirty bucks, I saw him!"

Aang turned around and shook his head at her, amused that such little things could cause the glares, the frowns, the arm crossings, and the foot tappings similar to the ones he was receiving right now. It was just that, now, it happened to be something trivial that really didn't merit a disagreement. He supposed that he should have been flattered that she was looking out for him. After all, if she really didn't care she wouldn't have said anything. He picked up on the subtle little things about her, which is why he found himself smiling instead of being upset like she was.

'Whatever you say, Toph," he smiled. "When do your classes end today?"

Toph's eyebrows lifted a little at the sudden change in conversation. "Um…early. About 1, why?"

Aang jerked his head down the street. "That new coffee shop opened near the school I work at. Let's go meet up for lunch. My treat."

"Oh," Toph started. "You don't have to—" But Aang heard none of it and walked towards his job, leaving Toph to part ways with him and head to classes. She didn't even let her finish her sentence.

He laughed when he heard her yell, "Yup! Definitely way too nice!" after him.

**38. Fruity**

"Now all we have to do is put the fruit filling inside and let the pie set in the fridge."

Toph sat on the counter top grinning as she watched her boyfriend saunter around the kitchen like he had been living in it for years looking for more ingredients. He had flour and dough all over himself, he looked pretty dorky in that apron (though…alright, _fine_, he pulled it off pretty damn well), and he was grinning like a little boy at the prospect of finally completed two freshly baked strawberry pies. What really made her laugh was how sudden this whim of his was. She was literally on the couch sketching and planning a new project for school when he barged in all of a sudden and stated, "Let's make some pies!"

She supposed she found that child like enthusiasm rather endearing, especially after a long day of classes. She missed working at the diner. It was fun, and she had time to relax. Now it was back to school and she felt like a rundown robot all over again. So moments like these were well appreciated. It took her mind off of things, definitely.

Aang placed her in charge of watching the strawberry filling and making sure that it didn't burn. He had told her that once it started boiling to _only_ let it boil for one minute. Then she absolutely _had_ to take it off the fire _immediately_ and let it cool _completely_. And yes, he had emphasized all of those words.

Aang couldn't really cook—she was in charge of their meals for the most part—but he definitely knew how to bake. He was like Betty Crocker's long lost son, which was well appreciated because she couldn't even bake chocolate chip cookies to save her life.

"I think it's done," Toph called to him. It'd been cooling for about forty-five minutes, in that time Aang was preparing the dough and Toph was running back and forth between watching television and doing homework.

Come to think of it…all that work had made her hungry…

"Ah, ah, ah, ah! Don't you even think about it." Aang yanked Toph back away from the stove by the hood of her Kyoshi University sweatshirt. "You are not sticking your fingers in there to try it."

"What! They're clean," she argued back, wiggling them in his face for emphasis. "Besides, aren't we supposed to try it out first to make sure that it tastes good? Hm?"

Aang sighed. The hand on his hip was still holding a rolling pin and he was rubbing his temples, completely oblivious of the fact that his apron was slipping off of his waist—_Pretty manly, Aang._

"Don't worry. It's just I want to make sure that we have enough for two pies. We can't try it before we put it in the fridge. If we don't have enough, we'll have to make more, then I'll need to count exactly how many strawberries I need or if we'll have to go to the store a second time and I really don't want to walk all the way back to the store. So our best bet is to just hang tight and wait, because it's going to be a headache trying to remake everything and—mmph!"

Aang liked to babble. So Toph liked shutting him up before it got too bad. Besides, it was just one taste. He would survive.

She slowly dipped the very tip of her finger in the filling and laughed when she saw Aang's eyes roll in frustration. She merely shrugged in response, showing that she didn't care and—just to spite him—licked and sucked the filling off her finger as slowly as possible just to spite him. Aang lifted a brow at this and watched her clean her finger off in a performance that was completely unnecessary. Toph removed her hand from his mouth when she was done and smiled.

Aang didn't seem too upset though. "Hey…would you punch me if I told you that was incredibly erotic?"

Yes she would, and yes she did. But she laughed anyway.

**39. Half-life**

Aang walked into the living room and heard Toph yelling.

"Look, I really don't need this right now…I don't care what you have to say, I can do whatever the hell I want…if this is what you called to tell me then you just hang up because I'm not going to take this from you…"

He wondered with whom she could have been talking to. He only really heard her on the phone with Katara and one or two people she met at college. But even so, he had never heard her _shout_. Aang nestled himself into one corner of the couch with a new book for his class, prepared to annotate it fully and hopefully come up with something interesting enough to discuss for his next class. But as he opened the book and tucked his pen behind his ear, the yelling from the kitchen only increased.

"Mom, _please_, just drop it…"

_Mom?_

Aang put down his book and looked toward the kitchen. He only saw Toph's back hunched over in one of the chairs and holding her cell phone tightly to her ear. She was silent as the person on the other line—apparently her _mother!_—was speaking.

_She never talks about her family_, Aang thought to himself. Whenever the subject came up, she would either ignore him or change the conversation. The most he had gotten out of her was that she wasn't wanted at home, so she left. Before, he had always thought that maybe she was exaggerating. He had friends who had done the same thing before. They cut out and thought that they could do better on their own, but eventually they came to terms with their stupidity and made up with their family. He had hoped that Toph would eventually do the same.

But this…this didn't sound like it was going well.

"How I'm spending my life is my business …no don't _start_ with this!...Oh, so me getting into grad school is me wasting away half my life, huh?...Mom…dammit, will you just…"

She hesitated for a moment more on the phone until he heard her hang up and slam her cell phone on the table, ending the conversation short. He stood up from the couch and walked into the kitchen to find her slouched over with her hands in her face, her breathing shaky. The cell phone was still on the table.

It had started vibrating, and he briefly saw "Mother" flash across the screen, but Toph made no move to answer it. What she did do, however, was grab the offending piece of technology and fling it across the kitchen. It clattered noisily on the floor, probably cracked, but Toph didn't seem to care. Aang stared worriedly at her, never before seeing her this upset—even when they fought.

Aang wrapped an arm around her and placed a kiss on the back of her neck. He left his lips pressed there for a moment and tightened his grasp when she felt her body shake. "Do you want to talk about it," he whispered.

She shook her head, but didn't push him off or tell him to leave. So Aang stayed.

**40. Comedy of Errors**

"Alright, let's try this again…"

"I honestly don't see why we needed to get a flat screen for the apartment. Isn't this a bit flashy."

"Come on, Twinkles. We've been saving up for this thing for ages. Why are you so surprised now?"

"I'm not. I'm just saying—hey pick up your side more, I'm slipping!"

"I am, you dummy! I am shorter than you remember?"

"Well…ugh. Why did the elevator have to break today of all days?"

"Stop being a baby and just walk! The faster we beat these stairs the quicker we can set it up."

"But did we _really_ need it?"

"_Yes!_ That piece of junk we have now is on the fritz on a daily basis now. We needed a new one."

"Can we take a break?"

"Yeah…hold on. Just set it…down…okay. Break. Tired. I'm done."

"How many more floors do we have?"

"Um…nine."

"Dammit. Why did you pick an apartment on the 14th floor?"

"I like a view! Sue me!"

"Well, I'm not complaining about that it's just…crap! The TV!"

"Wait, what? What are you—?"

_CRASH!_

"…"

"…"

"Did we have insurance on that thing?"

"God, I hope so."

**41. Tragedy**

Sometimes, when Toph comes to bed at two in the morning, she sees Aang sleeping there in the bed, his breathing even, and his face placid and peaceful. She sighs and thinks to herself how lucky she had been that leaving home had brought her so much happiness. But she still hoped that this bliss wouldn't end in a tragedy.

**42. "Hope is the thing with feathers…"**

Aang loved to read through all of his old poetry books when he was bored. He would sit in his room all by himself and recite them aloud. He was always a sucker for a good poet.

So Toph, whenever she was really stressed and needed his voice to lull her into a state of tranquility, she would sneak in and lay across the foot of his bed and listen to him read. She had listened all last week. Monday was Keats, Tuesday was Whitman, Wednesday was Frost.

Today must be Dickinson.

**43. Empire**

"I need my own kingdom."

Aang started noticing a while ago that Toph had a strange imagination. Just the other day, she had just finished watched _300_ and was convinced that she wanted to be fighting next to those rugged, scarred men with a shield, armor, spear, and sword and charge full throttle into a bloody battle. Her words, not his.

Then, yesterday, she came up with this whole convoluted desire to start street racing. She was even on her computer looking for good cars (though on her limited income, he was sure she knew that this wasn't exactly possible).

Now, she wanted a kingdom.

"It'd be perfect. I'll get to do whatever I want, no one will screw around with me, and I'm guaranteed piles of gold and cash as far as the eye can see. No more spilling coffee all over myself to make a quick buck. I'll be loaded, and I can design my palace all by myself. You can even have a throne right next to mine, Aang…"

**44. Turpentine Kisses and Mistaken Blows **

"I said I was _sorry!_ Geez…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…it's fine. It doesn't hurt too much anymore."

It really was an accident. After all, when someone sneaks in through your window, it's easy to think the worst. So Toph took it upon herself to situate herself next to the window and land a good punch to stop the intruder. But as soon as the person fell to the ground groaning in pain, Toph immediately gasped and realized her mistake. Aang did always say that she had a mean hook. He just hoped that such a blow would never come near his face. Too late now, but…oh well.

Toph gently kissed the red lump on Aang's jaw. "It's not swollen anymore. It actually makes you look pretty badass, in my opinion."

Aang laughed at that. "Oh really?"

Toph nodded and smiled as she gave him more ice to place on his face. "Yeah…in a rough-and-tough devil may care kind of way."

"I'll take your word for it."

**45. Rings**

Honestly, he told Toph that Express was _way_ too expensive a store. He looked at the price tag that read $118 that was attached to a blazer and immediately knew that shopping at the store was a bad idea. Now Toph was moping around the store wondering what other posh clothing stores would have clothes Katara would likely wear that were within the short girl's price range.

She claimed she still had money left over from her shifts at the diner plus whatever she saved up from various odd jobs and internships over the years. But apparently she wasn't motivated to spend too much of it now. Not that he blamed her.

Aang saw her peeking into Charlotte Russe and H&M, deciding which one would be better for her.

He shook his head in understanding. To a person who liked shopping downtown in obscure stores filled with leather jackets, chains, and band t-shirts, shopping for skirts and blouses must have been like walking through the twilight zone. He had to admit, she was faring pretty well, even though he found it funny how she cringed at anything with ruffles.

Aang decided to let her wander around. It left him plenty of time to window shop after all. Even though the weight of the bills in his pocket were not comforting, he still found himself staring at the display of rings in the window of a jewelry store that he was standing in front of in order to pass the time. Even though he knew that it wouldn't be able to happen for a while and it was better to allow more time to go by before he even thought about something like this, he still let his thoughts wander…

_Gold or white gold…hmm, a diamond?…or maybe I should go with a stone that would match her eyes…should I get something engraved on the inside?..._

**46. Dust**

Sometimes, Aang felt like they acted like a married couple. No it wasn't just because of the bickering (as Katara so dutifully reminded them every time she saw them). But there were just certain aspects of their life that seemed so…_domestic_. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing. He was sure Toph hadn't noticed herself yet either. But sometimes, it was just so glaringly obvious.

"So, you'll dust the furniture and vacuum the living room," Toph read from her notebook. "I'll mop the kitchen and do the dishes. We'll each do one bathroom. Sound like a plan?"

"What about your room? You forgot that one…"

"Eh, I barely use it, it's not really that dirty. Yours either, now that I think about it."

"Okay, so why don't we both do the laundry and call it even?"

"Deal."

Yeah. Divvying up jobs for cleaning the house seemed pretty domestic to him.

**47. Every you, Every me**

"Hey Aang?"

Aang mumbled into her hair, half asleep. "Hm?"

Toph leaned closer to him and wrapped her quilt tighter around herself. Looks like they had fallen asleep on the couch again. The movie they had put on was stuck on the menu screen, but neither felt inclined to turn it off. "What happens after you die?"

He groaned, willing himself to wake up and pay attention. "Why the sudden philosophical question?"

"I dunno," she shrugged. "Guess the beginning of the movie got to me…"

Aang accepted the topic and thought in silence for a moment. "Well, I know my Dad was a big believer in the whole reincarnation thing."

That peaked Toph's interests. "Wait. Is this the thing where if you were bad in this life, you live as a fruit fly in the next or something?"

Aang chuckled warmly. "Something like that. But my Dad liked to think that you made connections in your life that would pass on into your future lives. So you never really lose the people you care about."

"So lovers now, lovers forever."

Aang nodded. "Yeah. But it's not just that. Family, friends, neighbors…anybody that had an impact on you. They don't go away, and neither do you."

Toph fell into another silence after that, and they were both very close to falling back asleep again. But something about what Aang had told her warmed her heart and reassured her. Maybe it was the fact that there was this little part of her who still believed in magic and fairy tales that took comfort in the fact that the two of them would keep running into each other lifetime after lifetime.

The dominant part of her—the eternally cynical part of her—didn't buy it. But that didn't stop the pleasant feeling the thought gave her.

**48. Project**

"So Toph, I was thinking that—"

"Shush. I'm working."

"Still? You've been at it for five hours. You're going to go blind."

"Don't care. Gotta finish."

"Has it ever occurred to you that working too hard is actually counterproductive?"

"Look, I've got my final project to hand in tomorrow and I have to finish this. So I mean this in the nicest way possible when I say shut up and leave me the hell alone!"

"Yeah, because I'm _totally_ meant to take that nicely…"

"Twinkle Toes!"

"Alright, alright fine. I'm leaving. But remember what I said: counterproductive."

"Your input is counterproductive!"

"Yell at me all you want. But when you get tired, there'll be some hot tea for you in the kitchen."

Silence.

"…is there honey in it?"

"Of course there is. I wouldn't forget."

"Maybe a five-minute break. But that's it! Got it?"

"Whatever you say."

**49. Adore**

Katara seemed to have proclaimed herself the president of the "Aang and Toph Fan Club" that was intent on starting. She kept spewing all of these lines about how absolutely adorable the two of them were together and she was positive she would be planning a wedding in a year's time.

Aang—ever the shy one—would just blush and scratch the back of his head. Toph—ever the hot-headed one—would roll her eyes and call Katara an idiot. But the blue eyes girl was sharp, and she didn't miss the fact that neither denied her claims.

**50. Murmur**

Toph wondered if she should tell Aang that he talked in his sleep. Most of the time is was unintelligible murmurs that she couldn't really decipher. But sometimes, her name slipped out, and for some reason she fully enjoyed it whenever she was around to hear it.

**51. Above**

"Aang, let's go out and do something."

Aang pushed his glasses up further on his nose. "I can't. I'm grading papers."

Toph was poking the top of Aang's head from her position on his bed. He was sprawled out on the floor with piles of essays surrounding him and holding his red pen in his mouth. She smiled. She _loved_ when he wore his glasses.

"Wasn't this the same guy that was telling me to rest after working on my project for so long?" She remained above him, poking his head and playing with his hair while he calmly read through an essay.

"Haha, very funny. I need to finish these."

A dramatic sigh left Toph's lips and she wondered whether it was even worth distracting him. Unlike hers, his attention span was ironclad. Not much was able to distract him. Toph puffed out her cheeks and groaned.

"Come on. They only handed them in yesterday. I doubt you need to hand them in tomorrow. You can grade later. But you've been crammed up in this house all day and it's Saturday. Let's go."

"The sooner I finish these, the better," Aang insisted.

Toph sighed and decided to be mean and unfair. She leaned over him and managed to catch his lips in a kiss. Sure it was a little awkward at first considering her vantage point, but that didn't seem to deter Aang from emphatically responding to it. Toph smiled into the kiss and played with the hair on the back of his neck, managing to pull a moan from out of him. Right there, she knew that she totally had him.

She pulled away and watched him slowly blink his eyes back into focus. His glasses were slipping down his nose again, but he didn't seem in a rush to fix them. He stared at her and sighed, knowing that he might as well give in.

"I'll get my keys," he smiled.

**52. Below**

Aang didn't know what it was. Maybe it was the sight of Toph below him that was making him lose it all of a sudden. But when they got back from their date, they both sort of just lost it. They usually stopped right here—just when things were getting too heated. It didn't look like it was going to happen this time.

**53. Incalculable**

They slept until late into the afternoon the next morning. They both called in sick and decided that getting out of bed wasn't anywhere near the top of their priority list. Neither informed the other, but they were both figuring out whether or not they had rushed things last night and whether such a milestone should have waited. But they made eye contact that morning, and each gaze glowed with content. It was then that they both realized that maybe some things weren't worth calculating.

**54. Wire**

"Woah…what _happened_ to you?"

Toph groaned at Katara's shock. "What are you talking about now?"

Katara smiled broadly and nudged Toph in the ribs. "_You_ got busy, didn't you? You know…_busy?"_

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," Toph deadpanned. "Let's just hurry up and find a store to shop in."

"Are you kidding me? This is so important. This is huge!"

"What, did you wire tap my room? How do you even know what happened?" Toph asked, getting thoroughly annoyed.

"You're glowing my dear," Katara smiled. "I know it when I see it. We're serious about this boy, aren't we?"

Toph didn't respond, but Katara didn't need to hear her answer. The blush on her face spoke volumes.

**55. Landslide**

Toph sometimes felt that being in a relationship is like being caught in an avalanche. There are just so many feelings tumbling down after you that you can't outrun, and when they finally catch up to you it can get a little overwhelming. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, but Toph often wondered how she had managed to get so deep into someone like Aang and not regret a bit of it.

**56. The Beginning is the End is the Beginning**

It was getting to the point where neither of them realized where they started and where the other one ended. They were becoming the same person, the same soul, living in the same world. They completed each other, and it was hard to imagine that they would ever separate.

**57. Door**

Aang never kept the door to his room locked; mainly because Toph slept in there with him almost all of the time, but also because Toph needed a place to complain. She would flop onto his bed and begin rambling about her professors and the idiot on the bus today. She never expected him to respond, just to listen. He was always happy to oblige. Besides, he had a habit of returning the favor through his own string of complaining anyhow.

**58. Enemy Gate**

Toph visited her parents during the holidays for the sake of propriety. Other relatives were invited and Toph was expected to make an appearance since she was for all intents and purposed a part of the family. Aang would drive her to the gate of the estate every holiday and wait for her to open the car door and walk out. But every time they tried, she would shake her head and Aang would drive away. They would eat out that night and not discuss it any further.

She apologized each and every time and promised that she would talk to them eventually. She couldn't keep avoiding them and she knew that. Aang always offered his support and promised that he'd be with her the day she finally decided to get out of the car and walk up to their door.

**59. Stone**

Toph was like a stone: absolutely unmovable and completely stubborn in every sense. Sure at times it made her completely insufferable and difficult to deal with, but sometimes Aang appreciated it. Like those times she refused to eat meals without him and how she never moved back into her room.

**60. Bright**

"So how's Zuko been?"

Katara shrugged and hit her face behind her coffee cup. "Eh, okay…"

Toph laughed. "Just okay? Please, you text him all the time. I'm starting to feel jealous."

"Well, it's easy for you to say!" Katara shot at her. "You and Aang are like a match made in heaven. I mean I like Zuko and everything bit…I don't know, what if it turns South again?"

Unfortunately, Katara had this innate ability to attract jerks. So figures she would get all nervous and apprehensive about getting serious with the one nice guy she met. She and Aang had met Zuko before. Actually, he went to a grad school close to Toph's so they often ran into each other when they both went out for lunch at the same time. An honorable guy, but Katara was a little slow about it.

"Trust me," Toph confided. "I wasn't too hot about anyone else that you brought before. This Zuko guy sounds like a good idea."

Katara laughed. "He's talking to you isn't he?"

"Alright fine, yeah. But I'm being totally serious, Sugar Cakes. The dude likes you. A lot. So stop being an idiot and chase him."

Katara shook her head again and started chuckling to herself. "You know, I'm just a little bit jealous of _you_."

That made Toph look up. "Why?"

"You never realize this, I bet," Katara smiled, "but you're eyes get all bright when you talk about him and whenever he hangs out with us, your whole mood just lifts up. When he says something, you smile. When he compliments you, you blush. And despite this hard shell you try to encase yourself in, he cracks it down and shows off your good side. It's sweet to look at."

All of a sudden, Toph got extremely self-conscious and turned her head away. She knew she was blushing. "Zuko gets you like that too. You just don't notice it. That's why I know he's good for you."

Katara frowned and raised a brow. "Really?"

"Yeah," Toph smiled, her mind going off and thinking of other things, and other people. "You're eyes get all bright and your mood lifts up."

**61. Stories**

"Hey, can you tell me another story about your Dad?"

Aang always told her about the little adventures he used to have with his father when he was little. Jumping over rocks to avoid the imaginary lava, exploring their garden for evil monsters, and sneaking under kitchen tables to hide from the pterodactyls that were searching from them in the sky.

"Why do you like them so much?" Aang asked. "They're embarrassing. Me acting like a darn little fool, that's what they are."

Toph shrugged. "You smile when you tell them. Plus they're adorable, and brilliant blackmail material."

**62. Chime**

When both of their birthdays came up this year, they each waited the night before until the clock in their living room let out a chime that let them know it was midnight. Then they would wish the person happy birthday at that exact moment, and have some birthday cake despite the horrid hour. Sure, it wasn't exactly conventional or logical, but it was a little quirk that the two of them liked to think was special to the both of them, and it made them feel like kids again whenever they curled up on the carpet and waiting for the clock to strike.

**63. Laugh**

"So…when we get married…"

"Oh my God, not this again."

"What? I thought my sketch of your wedding dress was pretty awesome."

"It looked like a balloon."

"A very beautiful and elegant balloon."

"Yeah. You stick me in that and I'll put polka dots on your tuxedo."

"Fine. But I still want the chocolate cake."

"We can do the chocolate cake."

"I'm not good with colors though. That's your department."

"Please. You know that Katara's going to take the wedding plans and run with them. We won't even need to hire a wedding planner."

"Wasn't she becoming a doctor?"

"Yeah. But wedding planner could be her other hat, so to speak."

"Fine. Chocolate cake. Polka dot tuxedo. Balloon dress. Katara will work out the color scheme and other logistics. I think we're covered."

"You're such a dork."

"…I am going to put a ring here, you know that?"

"You know I don't expect one, right? I'm fine with this."

"I know you are. But I'm still going to do it. When you least expect it."

"Alright, Twinkle Toes, I believe you. Just don't do something corny like writing my name in the sky with a plane."

"Or putting it in your champagne glass. I got it."

"I hope you do."

"Don't underestimate me though. When it comes to this stuff, I've got a pretty active imagination. I'll get you good. Don't worry."

**64. Hold**

There are nights when they don't know how they last without holding each other. Let it be at night when they're sleeping, when they're walking home, when they're sitting in a café, or when they're just sitting in the living room acting stupid. There was something about needing to know that the other was there, and refusing to let them go for anything. It was uncharted territory—territory that scared them and excited them. It was worth trudging through it all so long as they were able to look to their sides and see the other person standing there with them.

**OOO**

_**A/N:**__ Ah! Too much fluff! I'm blinded!_

_Eh, leave me alone. I happen to like the gushy stuff. And you all know deep within your hearts that you absolutely adore it too. But seriously, I hope you liked this little installment. It was fun to write._

_By the way, if anyone has a list of prompts they'd like me to take a stab at, feel free to PM me any ideas that you might have. It's always fun to write prompts that you yourself don't come up with. Makes it more interesting. Thanks for reading, everyone!_


	3. III

**A/N:** Well! Long time no update!

I wasn't really expecting to continue this past its first chapter, but it got such good reception. So here's one last chapter of prompts to entertain you all. Thank you all who suggested prompts (I have used them!) and I hope you enjoy this last little installment.

**OOO**

**Hot Tea**

Toph got her tea-drinking habit from her mother. They both brewed hot tea when they were stressed. Whether it was because Toph was sketching out her senior art portfolio, or whether her mother was sitting her down in their living room to go over college lists, the two of them were always breaking out the tealeaves.

Thinking on it, it was probably the only thing the two of them had in common.

"Come on, sweetie," her mother urged, placing her cup down on its saucer. "It's my alma mater, and you'd do so well there! They have an amazing business degree…"

Toph shrugged and swiped the pencil shavings off of the counter and went right back to sketching. "Mmhm. Sure, Mom."

Her mother sighed dramatically and collected the pamphlets and orientation folders that came in the mail this morning. "I wish you cared a little bit more about your future. You know what your father and I want for you. I only wish you'd get a little excited about it!"

Toph left the admonishment hang in the air as she took a sip from her Earl Grey and smudged a line on her sketchbook with her thumb. There was no use in arguing or putting up much of an effort. Her life was pretty much planned for her. Might as well go with the flow.

**Moon **

"You know, I still find this disconcerting," Katara admitted.

Aang looked up from his notebook. "What? Your abysmal talent when it comes to calculus? I agree."

"Oh, shut up." She pointed accusingly at the notebook in Aang's lap. "I had to have gotten at least one of those right!"

"Actually, they're all wrong," Aang told her with a small smirk. "But it's fine. We'll fix it."

Katara pouted and buried her head in her pillow. "I meant that I'm two years older than you, and we're both freshman at the same college, and _you're_ helping _me_ with homework." She sighed in frustration and peeked over Aang's shoulder, trying to understand the differential equations he was writing on the top margin. "I mean, skipping two grades? That's inhuman."

"It's perfectly within reason," Aang shrugged, twirling his pen in his hands. "And besides, this isn't about me. We have to teach you math."

Katara looked like she was about to cry. She pulled her quilt over her head and let out a fake sob. "I'm going to fail this midterm tomorrow. Goodbye, med school," she sighed forlornly.

Aang rolled his eyes and peeked up at the window. It was nearing close to midnight, and the full moon was already high up in the sky. It was going to be a very long night. "You know, the moon was always associated with lunacy and irrationality," Aang informed his pouting friend.

Katara lifted her head from the covers. "Yeah? So?"

Aang jutted his chin towards the windows and started writing notes for Katara in the margins. "Full moon. It's making you act stupid. Stop stressing."

"Excuse me?" Katara gasped, sounding affronted.

"You're not going to fail anything," Aang explained calmly. "You're plenty smart, you're just getting caught up in the road bumps. Stop thinking you're an idiot and get over here. I'll explain it to you."

Katara crawled out of her cocoon and sat in front of Aang. "You really believe that moon stuff? Because if you do, I'll argue the same applies to you," she argued. "I mean, today with selling your parents' house…that's probably the craziest thing I've ever seen you do."

Aang shook his head, not wanting to get into it. There was no sense in keeping a house only for himself. And besides, there were too many reminders of the life he no longer had. Keeping that house would only remind him of his parents even more and bring back bitter feelings. At least this way he could use the money to get that teaching license he'd always wanted. Sure it was reckless. But sometimes a little recklessness was called for.

"Sometimes, you just have to do something crazy in order to get your life moving," Aang replied sagely. "But stop getting distracted. Look, here's where you're messing up…"

**Locket**

Toph had a lot of things she wanted to do. She wanted to get a degree in architecture. She wanted to go study abroad in Europe in order to take in the culture and gain some inspiration. She wanted to own her own firm in the future. And more than anything, she wanted to be able to walk down into the kitchen, get her father to disconnect himself from his newspaper, get her mother away from the telephone, and let them look at all of her sketches and ideas and just be _proud_ of her for once.

"Mom, I _really_ just want you to look at this. I'm taking this Architecture and Design elective at the university and we're doing this project where—"

Her mom put her hand over the mouthpiece to the phone and regarded her daughter distractedly. "Could you just wait a moment Toph? I'm on the phone."

Toph rolled her eyes and grabbed an apple off of the counter. "You've been on the phone for the past hour," she muttered quietly.

She trudged back into the living room and sat down in front of the fireplace. Her father was sitting at the desk in the den, rifling through a bunch of papers that he probably brought home from work. He turned his head to the right. "Is that you, Toph? Didn't notice you come down."

Not that that was at all surprising. She was home for Thanksgiving and it's like they didn't even notice. "Yeah, I just came down to sketch…"

"Oh, you and that old book again huh?" her father chuckled at the dog-eared sketchbook. "Never got out of your habits from when you were a little girl." Toph scoffed to herself. So now it was a childish _habit_. That was encouraging.

"Well, anyway," her father continued. "When your mother gets off the phone, I want to hear about how you're liking the business school. Promise?"

Toph nodded distractedly and looked into the flames of the fireplace, still hearing snippets of her mother's conversation with a neighbor down the street. She didn't dare argue with her parents anymore. There was no use in wrenching herself open and showing them all the ideas she had and the things she really wanted to do with her life. For now, she was shut up tight like that annoying silver locket her mother gave her for Christmas that she could never get around to opening. It was too hard to try and see what was inside.

But sitting there, Toph suddenly realized that maybe she wasn't trying hard enough.

**Forgotten**

Katara always criticized Aang for always being so absorbed in his work. Every weekend, whenever there was a huge party and the older girl had shots ready and lined up for him—"Eh, we're all under aged anyway. Doesn't matter that you're still sixteen!"—he always declined and went back to annotating whatever novel he was reading for class that week.

He always assured everyone that it was because he was taking six classes and always had a lot of work. But the truth was, he really just wanted to absorb himself in his work to forget about the stressful months he had right before college started. There was no sense in getting attached to too many people and freaking out over meeting girls at parties when relationships are so easily disposed of.

Better to absorb himself in something that he could control.

**Someday…**

"And you're sure about this, miss?" the secretary at the Student Advising office asked her with a quizzical stare.

Toph nodded emphatically and finished signing all of the appropriate forms. "Positive." Nothing had ever felt this right.

"I just want to warn you that most of the credits you accrued this semester won't transfer over," the secretary advised her. "You'll have to start fresh. That'll be a heavy course load for you."

But nothing was persuading Toph out of this decision. "Don't worry. I'm bright, I think I can handle it," she promised with a small smirk.

The secretary smiled at her and shook her head. "Alright then. Well, all you have to do is give your approved proposal to the Dean of the Business School and notify him of your transfer to the Liberal Arts school. You'll be given a new advisor and they'll update you on the classes you'll have to take and when you'll declare your major." She paper clipped all of the forms that Toph signed and handed them over to her. "A pretty daring move, I must say."

Toph laughed and winced, taking the paper and stuffing them in her bag. "Thanks, but don't congratulate me yet. My parents are gonna be pissed."

"Oh, they can't stay mad at you forever," the secretary assured. "I switched my major at college too. I know what you're going through. They'll understand someday."

Someday, huh? Toph laughed to herself and waved the secretary goodbye. As happy as she was about this decision, she wasn't too sure about _that_ part.

**Relations**

"Aang. Honestly?"

"I am not giving out my phone number to girls. I told you this Katara. I'm not interested in that kind of stuff at all."

"…hey, you're…I mean…you're not…? Because it's totally okay if you are!"

"Katara, if my four year crush on you wasn't an indicator enough of my preference for females, I don't know what is."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. But come on! This girl is adorable. And she's 18! Helllloooo? Older girls interested in you? You might as well be the luckiest guy on the planet."

"I meant what I said Katara."

"Ugh, I know. I just…I worry about you, you know? Ever since your parents died—"

"We promised not to talk about that."

"I know, but you've been so shut up lately. I haven't seen you talk to many people other than me. And you're starting to worry me. You can't hide in fear forever, Aang. You've got to let someone in eventually."

**Green**

Their reactions were actually sort of comical. Toph knew there was going to be an explosion at the news of her officially and newly declared Architecture major, but she figured she might as well revel in the hilarity while it lasted.

And boy, was it a sight to see! Her father looked like he had just swallowed a whole lemon, and she didn't think her mother's pale complexion was capable of taking on that hue of green. The poor woman looked like she was going to be ill.

**Spark**

Being a senior started to make Aang think about his future a lot more than usual, and it was starting to make him feel older than he actually was.

He was always told that he was meant to help people, even when he was little. Let it be because he always offered to babysit in his neighborhood or because he was always the self proclaimed "protector" of all of the younger kids in grade school who were bullied, Aang knew that he was meant to change lives. How, he wasn't quite sure. But surely if something was so imbedded in his nature, it was meant to be, right?

Researching high schools to teach in after he graduated was probably the most fun he'd had in a long time. Katara teased him for it, but he knew that she was just as excited about getting into the medical school she wanted to all along. He admitted that he often put himself on the back burner and dealt with everyone else's problems before he dealt with his own. But strangely enough, he didn't mind such things.

Getting excited about teaching ignited a need in him: a need to give others the chance to be happy and fulfilled, even if it meant he didn't have time to indulge himself.

**Sick**

"Toph, you get back here right now!"

But Toph wasn't listening. Oh, she was so beyond listening to anything her mother had to say at this point that she was functioning on tunnel vision right now. And it felt _amazing_! Her mother barged into the den and started sneering at the pictures of the wooden models she had made for one of the Architecture assignments while her father stayed silent at his desk and had nothing to say. She even went so far as to accuse Toph of throwing away her entire life for the sake of a few scale models that probably weren't going to make her any money at all.

"You could be running the family business and instead you're playing with art projects. Do you _actually_ think that's going to get you anywhere?"

That had done it.

Toph locked her door and started throwing all of clothes in suitcases. She already called a cab and planned to book a hotel for three nights. She needed to get out of her house. She still had two weeks left of her Christmas vacation, but she couldn't spend it in this house anymore. Not when her mother was so critical of all of her achievements and not when her father was too aloof and disconnected to show his daughter anything other than indifference. She didn't need any of this. She still had plenty of money in her bank account that her parents routed her when she started University. She'd just use that and take some time off for a while. Clear her head. Calm her temper.

She heard her mother pounding on her door, demanding to know what she was thinking and what she was doing locked up in her room. But Toph zipped up all of her bags and set them by her door, waiting for the cab to honk in front of her house. She was absolutely fed up, and this was the last straw.

**Really?**

"…and you wouldn't believe how bright some of these kids are!" Aang gushed over his plate of waffles. "I mean this one girl is so quiet when the teacher is giving the lesson, but when I was helping check all of their math problems, she just does it all with such ease. I mean it's amazing how quickly she picks up on things."

Katara laughed and sipped at her coffee. "Wow…"

"What?" Aang questioned, still smiling from the memories of his first day of assistant teaching.

"Nothing," Katara grinned, pulling her anatomy textbook closer to her. "I just never expected you to get so excited about this. I mean, I knew you always talked about it, but I've never seen you this happy."

Aang tilted his head and brought another bite of breakfast to his mouth. "…really?"

"Yeah, really," Katara assured him with a smile. "I don't think you realized, but you were in kind of a weird place all through college. I thought you were going to stay that way forever, but I think this teaching job is good for you. Puts a smile on your face. Makes you look brighter. You should see it, it's pretty amazing."

Aang wasn't really understanding where Katara was coming from. "A weird place?"

She nodded and twirled her hash browns around in her plate. "Mmhm. But not anymore. This is a good look for you. Stay this way, alright?"

**Exit**

"Mother, I am _not_ coming back until you apologize."

"What, apologize to you for telling you the truth? Think about this Toph. You have a bright future we've lined up for you. An architect? That's just as useless as being an artist. There's no _stability_ in a career like that!"

"But I love doing it! I love the idea of creating projects on my own one day. And it's not like this is a whim of mine. I'm really _really_ good at this. All of my professors tell me I have so much potential. This could be good for me! Why can't you just be happy for me?"

"Toph, I just want what's best for you. Our business is a clear road to success. With this…there's just too many variables. So much can go wrong!"

"Don't you believe in me just a little? That I can handle a little obscurity?"

"Of course I don't believe in you, not after you betrayed us the way you did! Honestly, switching out of the business school your father and I worked so hard to get you into."

"…it's not like I switched universities…"

"It doesn't matter! You lied to us. And I cannot stomach that kind of betrayal."

"You betrayed me first! I'm trying to figure my life out, go after what I want, and I need you and Dad there to help me through it. You're as good as abandoning me!"

"I won't accept this, Toph. I do not approve of what you're doing, and I can't make that clear enough. You need to come to your senses and quick."

"…well then maybe I just won't back home if I'm such a disappointment to you."

"…then maybe you shouldn't."

**Complicating**

"You know, dude. You should get a roommate."

Aang laughed out loud and turned back to the television. "Sokka, don't be stupid."

"No, I'm being serious," Sokka insisted. "Looking around this place is just…depressing. It's not even cool looking like a bachelor pad should be. It's just sad."

Aang looked around the apartment. He didn't think it was that bad. Sure it was just a small studio apartment, but it was all he could afford even with all the life insurance money he got from his parents. It was quaint, but it was all he really needed. A television. A couch. A table in the kitchen to eat his meals. A bed. All his books piled up in a corner. That was it. What more was he missing?

"You know, there are nicer ways to tell me that I'm crap at home decorating," Aang deadpanned. "Just hit me with it. I can take it."

Sokka rolled his eyes and took a swig of his beer. "You're the only guy I know who willingly stays single. I mean, at least do what I do. Get a chick as a roommate. Have you _seen_ my roommate Suki? Holy shit…"

Aang smacked Sokka upside the head. "I'm not getting a roommate just to perv on her. That's gross."

"It wouldn't be perving on her!" Sokka argued back, rubbing his head. "It's just taking advantage of rare beauty. Seriously. Put out an ad. Hot chick wanted. Rent not necessary. May pay with her body."

"You're disgusting," Aang frowned. "And I just don't feel like complicating things with a roommate right now. Work is going well, and I just want to focus on that."

"You know, usually people jump into work after a super bad breakup," Sokka explained. "You don't have that as an excuse. You're acting like a forty year old loser."

Aang forced a grin and tried not to let the comment bother him. "Thanks Sokka."

**Cruelty**

Aang had seen Katara cry before, but not like this.

Seeing her mother in a casket must have really gotten to her. Aang completely understood. But there was something just so miserable about the way Katara was silently crying in the corner of the funeral home, wearing a black get up that she would have never allowed into her wardrobe under any circumstances. Family members were coming up to the body in order to pay their respects, and Katara and Sokka's father was still kneeling in front of the casket, his hands folded together and pressed against his lips, as if he was trying to desperately control the storm of emotions riling up inside of him.

But it wasn't even the sight of Katara crying that really got to him. It was how attached she was to Sokka. She was trembling and shaking at one point during the service, but Sokka quickly walked over to her and hugged her close, pressing comforting, brotherly kisses on the top of her head. And suddenly, as if by magic, Katara's trembling ceased. She looked up at Sokka smiled sadly, and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Aang looked on at the sight intrigued, unable to understand how someone else was able to offer such comfort. Aang just held everything in and hoped that he would be strong enough to handle everything on his own. For so many years, he'd just been hugging himself at night when the grief became too much, and resolving himself to just worry about himself and not worry about company. He was his only priority. No more worrying over other people.

But…perhaps some company wasn't such a bad thing. Letting someone in might actually be…nice.

**Relief**

"I'm sorry, but you're not authorized to make that transfer."

Toph froze and reached across her coffee table, grabbing the bank statements she was collecting. "That's impossible. Both accounts have always been opened. I've been making transfers back and forth for years."

The bank clerk cleared his throat over the phone. "Yes, but recently the account in question requires security clearance in order to be accessed, and you just don't have such clearance."

Toph cursed loudly and rifled through more papers. Figures that once her parents found out that she used most of her college money to find an apartment that they would spite her by closing out the main family account. Now, whatever money she had left in her private school account—which was probably only a little over $20,000 that was supposed to last her for…well forever—was all she had left. Her parents weren't wiring her any more money. She was officially on her own.

"Come on, I'm on my knees here," Toph begged. "Isn't there anyway I can get access to the accounts? This is an emergency." It may have seemed like a lot of money, but Toph still had to pay for grad school and books, and now rent on top of anything else she may have needed such as groceries and daily essentials. Maybe if she was lucky, the scholarships that she applied to would give her some money. She could look into the few grad schools that offered financial aid, however little it was. But that was being hopeful. Three quarters of what she had was going to get sucked up by school regardless. The money she would have left over wouldn't last her very long.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. But unless you can gain clearance from the original owner of the account, there's nothing I can do for you."

The girl sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "No, I…I understand. Thanks anyway."

Her cellphone clicked shut, and Toph officially had no idea what she was going to do. She was supposed to be excited about her impending graduation, not stressing over finances. Not that it really mattered that she was graduating anyway. It's not like her parents were going to be attending.

Toph leaned back on the couch and sighed. She shouldn't have spent so much of the money furnishing the place. Sure, it looked gorgeous and probably made it seem like she had more money than she actually did, but maybe if she had held off on the "I'm on my own!" vibe, she wouldn't be in such a hole. Money was never a problem for her, coming from such a rich family. But now, Toph needed to do something quick in order to relieve the financial burden. Going to grad school at this point was completely out of the question.

She pulled her laptop off of the floor and started Googling local job openings.

**Change**

"Alright, so that's pretty much everything you need to know. Think you're ready to start waiting tables?"

Toph finished tying her apron behind her back and pulled a hairband off of her wrist. "Yeah, I think I've got it covered," she assured with a smirk, piling her hair on top of her head and smiling at her new boss. "I mean how hard can carrying a few trays of food be?"

Her boss chuckled. "Not everyday you see someone so enthusiastic about customer service."

Toph shrugged, but didn't say anything. If she was being completely honest, this was going to be a nightmare. She had never worked a day in her life, and suddenly realized how much her spoiled lifestyle was affecting her. But she needed the time to make some money in order to keep paying rent and save up for school. She knew this. But she also had no idea how the hell to be a proper waitress.

Maybe she shouldn't have bragged about how personable and patient she was during the job interview. She was more likely to smash a plate in frustration.

"First day?"

Toph whipped around and saw another girl in a similar apron with thick brown hair and bright blue eyes. The green-eyed girl laughed nervously and looked out towards the diner filled with customers. "Yeah. To be honest, I don't think I'm too cut out for this."

The girl waved off Toph's apprehension and pushed her out of the kitchen. "Ah don't worry. Just smile, and learn how to scream internally. And try not to snap at people. You'll be fine."

"Famous last words," Toph muttered.

The girl looked at Toph's apron and frowned. "Oh, and you have to wear your name tag. Otherwise people can't thank you properly."

Toph rolled her eyes and pinned the nametag she was given this morning on her apron. She held out her hands and spun around in a little circle and waited for the girl's approval.

"Perfect," she smiled. She held out her hand. "Name's Katara, by the way."

Toph reached out and shook her hand. "Toph. Nice to meet you."

**Inhibition**

"Okay," Aang told himself, scratching out the line he just wrote down. "I don't know how to write advertisements."

Katara chuckled. "You'd think you would, considering you're an English teacher and all."

"But what does one even put on a roommate ad?" Aang asked perplexed. He leaned his chin on his knuckles and stared at the copious amount of scratches and cross-outs on the legal notepad in front of him. "Hey, I need someone to help pay rent. As long as you're not homeless or a homicidal rapist or whatever…"

His friend stared at him incredulously and snatched the pen away from him. "Man, you're really bad at this aren't you?"

"I just don't know how to go about this," Aang whined. "I mean, I'm letting someone else into my home. It's like…being married or something."

Katara burst out laughing. "Okay, Aang. It is not even that serious. This is just someone you have to share a kitchen and a bathroom with. And they'll be helping you pay rent. That's it. There's no commitment ceremony you need to go through or anything."

Aang sighed and drummed his fingers against the table. "No, you don't get it. I just…I didn't plan on living with anyone this soon in my life. It's just a little nerve wracking."

"Can I be honest with you?" Katara said honestly. Aang nodded and let her go on. "I really think this is going to be good for you. And I'm so proud of you for taking a step. I know you're not really used to having people care about you, but people do. I do. Sokka does. And who knows? Maybe this new roommate will be a new family for you too. You won't know until you try it." Katara shrugged her shoulders. "And you kinda need the help. Money wise and all."

Aang breathed in deeply and flipped to a new page on his notepad. He turned the notepad towards Katara. "Alright, then you write it. You seem to know what's good for me, so you do it."

Katara smiled proudly and uncapped the pen with a flourish. "Fine, I will! Hold on tight, because I am going to find you the perfect roommate."

"Whatever you say, Katara." Sometimes, the girl got too excited about things. A new family for him? He wouldn't go that far. This was just someone he was going to live with. That's all.

**Pair**

"God, I am _this _close to quitting!"

Katara widened her eyes and put a hand to her heart. "Aw! Your first quitting threat! Oh, damn, I wish I had a camera. This is a milestone for you."

Toph glared at her and dropped a tray of dishes roughly on the conveyor belt. The dishwasher in the back barked at her, but she completely ignored him. She was in a terrible mood. "Funny," she replied blankly. "Did you see what that guy just screamed at me over there for? He was yelling at me for serving him a blueberry pie because he thought it would taste different than it did. Like it's _my_ fault you're too stupid to realize what a goddamn blueberry tastes like. And he wants his money back? Please!"

Katara patted her on the back. "Hang in there, trooper. It's only been a few weeks. Just think," she smiled, staring dreamily into the distance. "That paycheck is going towards something important."

Important was an understatement. More like necessary for the future of her existence and happiness, but she supposed Katara had a point. Toph untied her apron and hung it on one of the hooks in the kitchen. Katara did the same, since she always joined Toph for their fifteen-minute break. They walked outside into the alley next to the restaurant and leaned against the wall. Toph turned to Katara and asked her, "So what's keeping you here? What's the magical paycheck for?"

Katara's darkened a little and she looked down at her feet. "Well, um…my mom died last month, and…well, my dad's always away for work, so it's just my brother and I. We need a little extra money around the house, and plus the work distracts me from being too depressed. So I took a leave of absence from med school for family reasons just to clear my head."

Toph frowned and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "Sorry to hear about your mom."

Katara shrugged and smiled. "It's okay. I'm healing, and I know she wouldn't want me to worry too much about her. It's all good. But thanks," Katara grinned. She poked her elbow in Toph's ribs. "So what's your story?"

"I need money for school," Toph explained. "Let's just say my parents aren't too thrilled with me and don't feel like helping out. So I'm taking a gap year before I got to grad school to try and make some money for school and rent and whatnot."

"Ouch," Katara winced. "I feel you, though. Med school is not cheap. My loans are gonna kill me one day."

Toph laughed and nodded. "Yeah. But it should be okay. I mean, it'd be nice if I had someone living with me to help with rent and whatnot, but I'm sure I'll be able to handle."

Katara paused and stared at Toph quizzically, a small smile forming on her lips. "What did you just say?"

Toph raised her eyebrows. "Help with the rent? You know, like a roommate. Don't know where the hell I'm going to find one though. I mean, it's not like they just land in your lap or anything like that."

**Repeating**

"_Mm…is that you, Katara?"_

"_Yeah, it is. How are you?"_

"_Well, I was sleeping until you woke me up genius."_

"_Oh, right. Sorry about that. I just needed to ask you something important."_

"_Well, whatever it is, can't it wait until morning?"_

"_I suppose. But I remember you saying that you needed a roommate to help you pay the rent."_

"_Alright you have my attention. Now talk."_

"_What if I told you that I have a potential roommate for you?"_

**Confidence**

Aang walked down the hallway, clutching his two suitcases in his hands. His father's car was downstairs filled to the brim with boxes and boxes of books that he kept piled up on the floor in his house. Hopefully, he'd get around to buying a bookcase or something in order to hold them all and keep them neat and organized. And if what Katara was telling him was true, he'd definitely have the room for it.

There wasn't much that he knew about this girl he was moving in with. Sokka was excited when he heard that his new roommate was indeed female, and immediately started leering at him and asking him if she was hot. But Aang was more worried about the two of them getting along.

From what he heard, she was pretty volatile. Very stubborn and opinionated, but apparently had her heart in the right place. She was the same age as him and just graduated from a college right outside of the city. Her apartment was much bigger, so Katara suggested that Aang get rid of that teeny apartment he'd been renting out and just move in with her. The girl apparently said that she had an extra room he could use, plenty of furniture, and just required half of the rent every month. Aang could certainly live with that.

However, he was terribly nervous. What if they didn't get along? What if she was this terribly sloppy, rude person who made him clean up all the time and made co-existing impossible? He was an only child, and opted out of having roommates in college. He'd never had to live with anyone before in his life.

But his friends insisted that company would do him well. And honestly, he had to agree. He was tired of being alone in his apartment all the time and just having work to look forward to, no matter how much he enjoyed it. No matter what, he was going to give this roommate thing a try. Who knows? He may just make a friend out of it.

Aang located the correct apartment, gathered up his nerve, and rung the doorbell.

He heard a pair of feet pad against the floor behind the door and suddenly the door flew open to reveal…

…oh, _wow. _

Aang never really had a crush on anyone besides Katara, and that was years and years ago. Maybe it was because he just didn't care to look, or maybe he really never found anyone he was interested in or found particularly stimulating.

But this girl was absolutely _stunning_.

The brightest green eyes he had ever seen stared up at him from six inches below. She was short, but the tank top and jean shorts get up she had on was nothing short of adorable. Thick black hair was sticking out of her bun in waves, and she was biting her lip as she started to roam her eyes up and down, appraising him, and suddenly stopped at his eyes. He felt extremely exposed what with her staring straight at him, but for some reason he didn't mind the attention. He couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face when he cleared his throat.

"Ahem. You're Toph Bei Fong, right?"

The girl shook her head and crinkled her forehead a little in a very endearing way. She must have realized she was spacing out because she suddenly straightened up and held out her hand. "Yeah that's right. You can just call me Toph. And you are?"

Aang was secretly thanking Katara profusely in the back of his head. Not only was the girl gorgeous, but she seemed polite and sweet enough. He was sure that he could handle a little stubbornness and hardheadedness in his life. It might make this whole arrangement more interesting.

He shook her waiting hand, suddenly very excited for the future.

"I'm Aang."

**Intake**

"This is some apartment you have," Aang commented after they had unpacked all of his books, trying to take in all his surroundings.

Toph turned around with furrowed brows and looked around the living room. She shrugged and plopped down on the couch with her feet tucked underneath her. "Think so? I think it's pretty ordinary."

He shook his head and sat down on the spot on the couch next to her. "Are you kidding? My old apartment was a matchbox compared to this place. It's perfect."

"I guess I just had a lot of money to furnish it," Toph admitted.

That earned her a quizzical stare. "If you had all the money to furnish the place, why did you need a roommate?"

Toph frowned and huffed in frustration. "Let's just say I had a bit of money on me when I bought the place, but now the current of cash has severely downsized."

Aang took a shot in the dark. "Parents?"

"How'd you guess?" she laughed.

"I figured," Aang admitted. "Did you have a lot of money growing up?"

Toph raised her brows and nodded. "You could say that. But I don't like admitting that. I take pride in the fact that I am now taking care of myself _by_ myself."

Aang nodded and got the feeling she didn't want to go into the whole money thing much. So he changed the subject. "So I heard you want to be an architect?"

Her eyes lit up immediately. "Yeah. Katara told you?"

"Mmhm. That's pretty cool, by the way."

For some reason, the girl froze up for a moment and looked at Aang in shock. He was about to ask her if he offended her before she reached underneath the couch and pulled out a sketchbook with some photographs leaking out the sides.

"I'm trying to build up a portfolio when I apply to grad school," she explained quickly in excitement. "I mean, this is just stuff I've been working on for a few days, but I wanted to get an extra opinion just because I don't want to keep all this in my head."

Their first afternoon together in the apartment was spent with Toph showing off all of her old undergrad projects, and Aang being superbly impressed and telling Toph so. The girl must not have been very used to praise, because the blush that rose to her cheeks when he complimented her skills was intense. This must have been new to her, and it sort of saddened Aang that this was the case. She was extremely talented. He even took the time to take her back to his room and show him some of the books he was thinking of teaching his students, and she listened with rapt attention. They got along well, and the rest of the day was spent wonderfully

Aang had a good feeling about this set up.

**Anecdote**

"So? How is he?"

"Not bad. I mean, he's amazingly smart. He was telling me he skipped two grades in middle school. Can you believe that? But man, he's great. He's neat, he helps clean up. Katara, he does the freaking dishes because he _wants_ to! I didn't know guys were like that anymore."

"I'm telling you. He's the most polite person you'll ever meet. Trust me. I knew you'd like him."

"Easy on the eyes too."

"Hahaha, what?! Is there something I should know?"

"Hey, just making an observation. I mean, we clash sometimes, but I guess that comes with the territory."

"To be fair, you're not the easiest person to get along with."

"Hey!"

"I'm being honest. Oh, hold on, I gotta let you go. I've got another call."

"No prob. I'll see at work on Monday."

"Sure thing. Bye Toph."

Click.

Ring.

"Hello?"

"Katara?"

"Hey, Aang! Oh, how's Toph?"

"Actually, it's going really well. She's hilarious. Cooks like a professional, too. I mean her vinaigrette salad is to _die_ for. She's a little messy but she helps clean up the place on the weekends so I can't complain. I mean, it could have been so much worse."

"What did I tell you? I'm always right!"

"You weren't kidding about the stubbornness though. She left the door unlocked the other day and swore that I was the one that left it open! Can you believe that? It turned into this whole shouting match. She's seriously got a temper on her."

"Yeeaaah, I tried to warn you about that. But don't get too frustrated with her. It's just how she is."

"Eh, it's not too bad. I mean…her getting angry is kind of adorable."

"Woah, what?"

"…nothing. Forget I said anything."

"Haha, okay Aang. Whatever you say."

"I gotta go back to reading up for my next class. I'll call you later though okay?"

"Sure, sure. And have fun, okay?"

**Ordinary**

"Did you honestly expect us to end up here?"

Aang dragged a hand across Toph's hip and looked down at her face that was still half buried in his chest. "Well, you did kind of jump me first when I got home."

She smacked his chest, but smiled through her next sentence. "You know what I mean you smart aleck. I mean us…winding up here in the same apartment, and then…you know…"

Aang smiled and tried to lift Toph's chin up so that she could look at him. "Know what?"

"Nothing," she mumbled, embarrasses. "It's stupid."

He grinned and kissed her shoulder. "You're happy. It's okay to admit it."

Toph rolled her eyes as he started kissing up her shoulder, up her neck, and up to the corner of her mouth. He was pouting, waiting for her to turn his way and running his fingers across the edge of her underwear, distracting her immensely. She giggled girlishly—something she only ever did around Aang—and relented, letting him gently cup her chin and pull her in for a kiss. Something about kissing Aang was always the most comfortable and _right_ thing in the world. She didn't know how she had lived without his touch for so long.

"I don't know," Toph said distractedly. "I guess I never expected to meet someone so…accepting, you know? You never criticize me for anything. What you see is what you get, and you take it. I guess I'm just not used to that."

"Well it's a damn shame you're not," Aang admonished. "You are beautiful, talented, kind, and strong. It kills me that you grew up thinking none of that was true."

Toph shrugged offhandedly. "Well, that's what stubborn parents will do to you."

Aang shook his head and pulled her closer to him, splaying his fingers out against her lower back and stroking the birthmark she had there. "That's no excuse. You deserve so much more than that. And I'll spend the rest of my life showing you that."

Her eyes shimmered for a second before she smirked up at him. "I swear, you have a serious way with words. It's kind of incredible."

"Well, I've never had anyone that I ever wanted to say such things to," Aang replied honestly. "I really did think I was going to go through life just going at it alone. I was by myself, and I thought that staying alone was good for me. But I was an idiot. I met you and…I didn't want to be alone ever again."

"And you don't have to be," Toph told him quietly, bringing her hand up to cup his strong jaw line. "Just because you lost in the past doesn't mean that you have to go on being strong for everyone else. It's okay to need people. Hell, I don't know what I would have done duking it out on my own." She smirked and poked him on the nose. "You're loved, damn it. Take it and accept it."

Aang grabbed her hand and kissed her fingertips one by one. "Oh, trust me. I know. And I cherish you every second of the day."

Toph sighed at the wonderful sensation of his lips against her skin and snuggled into his chest again. She felt it rumble as he spoke up once more. "Tell me you love me."

She wasn't really fond of saying those three words—it was always difficult for some reason, and it never came out right when she tried—but when he sounded so content, and so charming, and so absolutely happy, she couldn't deny him.

She sighed against his skin. "I love you." And she meant it. She really did.

He kissed the top of her head, and she felt him smile against it. "I love you."

**Thanking**

Some days, it really hit the two of them how much they really needed to thank the other. Nothing was very easy for either of them, and there were days when they felt like giving up and letting their problems drown them. But moving in together taught them both one thing: they were important, they were special, and they were worthy of love.

**OOO**

**A/N:** And there you have it! _Roommates_ is all wrapped up! Thanks for everyone who reviewed and read thus far, it really means a lot.

If you're eager for more of this AU, not to worry. I've got plans for some cute one-shots and maybe even some chaptered stories in the future. Without realizing it, I've grown extremely fond of this universe and I really don't feel like abandoning it anytime soon. So keep an eye out for future continuations. Love all of you, and thanks for reading.


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